The asteroid, named P/2013 R3, was first spotted by the Catalina and Pan-STARRS sky survey in September

An asteroid breaking up in space has been filmed for the first time.

Extraordinary images of the giant rock self-destructing over a period of several months were captured by astronomers.

It smashed into ten smaller pieces which will eventually disintegrate into fragments, a few of which will one day reach Earth's atmosphere as meteors and burn up in the sky.

Up to 365 metres wide, each with 'tails' caused by dust lifted from their surfaces and pushed back by the pressure of sunlight, they are drifting apart slowly ruling out a spectacular collision with another asteroid.

Analysis of the pictures taken by Hubble's Wide-Field Camera 3 suggests the space rock may be spinning fast enough to burst apart.

Professor David Jewitt, of the University of California, Los Angeles, said: 'Seeing this rock fall apart before our eyes is pretty amazing.'

The crumbling asteroid, named P/2013 R3, was first spotted by the Catalina and Pan-STARRS sky survey telescopes last 15 September and regarded as an unusual, fuzzy looking object.

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Two weeks later it was spotted by the Keck telescope on Hawaii revealed three bodies moving together embedded in a dusty envelope almost as wide as Earth.

Professor Jewitt said: 'The Keck telescope showed us this asteroid was worth looking at with Hubble.'

Its superior resolution revealed there were really 10 embedded objects, each with comet-like dust tails. The four largest rocky fragments are up to 365 metres wide.

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The rocky asteroid was one of the innumerable objects populating the crowded asteroid belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, roughly three times further away from the sun than Earth. This picture was taken in October 2013

WHAT CAUSED THE ASTEROID TO BREAK APART?

Scientists do not think the asteroid was destroyed in a collision with another object because the way it is breaking apart.

They also think it is unlikely the asteroid fell to pieces due to pressure of interior ice warming.

Instead, they said the break-up was probably the result of the effect of sunlight over many years causing the asteroid to spin until it became unstable and ruptured.

This phenomenon, known as the YORP effect, has been debated by scientists, but never previously observed.

The Hubble data published in Astrophysical Journal Letters found the fragments are drifting away from each other at just a mile an hour - less than walking pace.

The asteroid began disintegrating early last year, but new pieces continue to emerge.

It is unlikely to have been hit by another asteroid because the impact would have been much more violent.

The most likely explanation for its breakup is the effect of sunlight, which increases the rotation rate causing centrifugal force to pull the asteroid apart.

This possibility, known as 'YORP torque' has been discussed by scientists for several years but, so far, never reliably observed.

The asteroid began disintegrating last year, but new pieces continue to emerge. It's unlikely to have been hit by another asteroid because the impact would have been more violent. Here is it is pictured on 15 November

The most likely explanation for its breakup is the effect of sunlight, which increases the rotation rate causing centrifugal force to pull the asteroid apart. The the asteroid is pictured on 13 December

For this to happen, P/2013 R3 must have a weak, fractured interior, probably as the result of a number of ancient but non-destructive collisions with other asteroids.

Most small asteroids, in fact, are thought to have been severely damaged in this way, giving them a 'rubble pile' internal structure.

P/2013 R3 itself is probably the product of collisional shattering of a bigger body some time in the last billion years.

The asteroid's remnant debris, weighing in at 200,000 tons, in the future will provide a rich source of meteoroids. Most will eventually plunge into the sun, but a small fraction of the debris may one day enter the Earth's atmosphere to blaze across the sky as meteors. here is is pictured on 14 January

With Hubble's recent discovery of another active asteroid spouting six tails, astronomers are seeing more circumstantial evidence the pressure of sunlight may be the primary force that disintegrates small asteroids less than a mile across in the solar system.

The asteroid's remnant debris, weighing in at 200,000 tons, in the future will provide a rich source of meteoroids.

Most will eventually plunge into the sun, but a small fraction of the debris may one day enter the Earth's atmosphere to blaze across the sky as meteors.

Professor Jewitt co-discovered the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune in 1993. The area, which contains more than a billion objects and was once believed to be empty space, has fundamentally changed the modern perception of the solar system.